Supercars: The McLaren MP4-12C

Why Men Desire Supercars: The McLaren Case Study

Does owning a supercar make any sense in the modern world? No. Is it efficient in any way, or is it a sound investment? Unlikely. Hell, you can’t even drive most supercars in civilized nations in anything above third gear or you’re liable to get pulled over. Oh, and youwillget pulled over -- going 55 in a 54, as Jay-Z would lament. But part of the attraction of desire is not the allure of the unattainable, but rather the allure of the utterly irrational. It’s not just that these supercars are beyond our scope of attainability, but that they make no goddamn sense in the real world. And we want them all the more for it.

There are now nearly a dozen supercars with horsepower that have eclipsed the absurd millennium mark, with no end to the buildup in sight. Keep in mind landmark ‘80s supercars like the Ferrari Testarossa only had 390 horsepower, the Lamborghini Countach 375. We’re now engaged in a cold-war race for power in a world without space to exercise it; we’re building bombs for enemies that don’t exist. I mean, where can you honestly, legally enjoy the benefits of one of these machines? The answer is you can’t.Legally. But, really, who the hell cares? You won’t, I offer, if you ever find yourself settling into the tightly bolstered seats of a McLaren (orFerrariorPorscheor Lambo or Zenvo) and hear that euphonic engine spring to life in a chorus of fire and exploding pistons. The sanity of your decision will be the last thing on your mind. Instead you will only smile stupidly and think of the potential rumbling before you. Supercars are clearly not the tangible goals of men, but are rather the fever dreams of princes. We can all agree on that. And, hey, who doesn’t want to be a prince for a day?